Cori Rist said this morning on NBC’s Today she had a 2 1/2 year affair with Tiger Woods. The single mother also claimed she was coming forward now to deny she was a prostitute and protect her seven-year-old son.

(Video of full interview after the jump)

Rist said she first met Woods in 2006 at a NYC club when an associate of Woods invited her over to the golfer’s table for a drink. Like other alleged Woods mistresses, Rist said that the golfer was only in his marriage for appearances.

“He was not happy at home with his wife. He would stay there because she was pregnant, and they were expecting their first child. Because of his reputation and the image that he has, he had to uphold that.

“According to him, things were rough and they were going to separate. He said, ‘We’re on the outs,’ but she was pregnant, and they had to get through that.”

Rist said she was coming forward now to deny reports that she was a prostitute - and for the well-being of her seven-year-old son. On Sunday, the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS reports “a woman resembling Rist” was seen on video inside a New York City brothel.

What wasn’t mentioned during Rist’s appearance on NBC this mornign is that she’s currently in a court battle with her ex-husband over the custody of her child.

Last week the NEW YORK POST reported that Rist’s ex-husband Neil Santos, “cited her frequent trips out of town as a prime cause for the break-up of their six-year marriage.”

In the interview with NBC, Rist denied going on trips to meet with Woods, nor taking money from him. But Santos told the Post six days ago, “I have wire transfers [of money] from Tiger to Cori.” Read more…

George Rush and Joanna Molloy of NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, who along with Mike Jaccarino and Samuel Goldsmith of the same outletfirst revealed alleged Tiger Woods mistress Cori Rist, report they’ve seen video of “a woman resembling Rist” inside a New York City brothel.

We’ve seen the video. In it, (former pimp Jason) Itzler greets a man who looks like (Rist’s husband Neil) Santos and a woman resembling Rist (though she has darker hair). Rist and Santos are said to have walked into the Worth St. brothel when filmmaker Ron Sperling was shooting a reality show about Itzler’s operation.

“She’s an escort with the permission of her husband,” Itzler says on camera. He also tells the couple: “Our normal rate is $800 an hour. Hers could be $1,000 an hour if she wants it to be.”

Director Sperling later told the Daily News that he remembered, “a woman named Cori being there with her husband when Jason was trying to get some more escorts to go to a bachelor party.”

This morning George Rush, Mike Jaccarino and Samuel Goldsmith of the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS added to the ever-growing list of alleged mistresses of Tiger Woods. This time we got a blonde “Manhattan clubgoer” named Cori Rist.

Rist and Woods allegedly met at the Manhattan club Butter last year and have been hooking up ever since.

Source: “One thing led to another, and pretty soon Tiger was flying her to hook up with him on tour. Tiger would typically get a large suite at a hotel. Someone would book Cori an adjacent room, so she wouldn’t be seen coming into his room.”

When contacted about the accusation, Rist said she had no comment “at this time.” (Could she be shopping her story to the highest bidder - including Woods?)

I know, this seems like it’s ridiculous now, and some people are probably thinking the media and sources are starting to take liberties with the facts.